


Escapism; An Epilogue

by justinsbuzz



Series: Homeworld Aftermath Arc [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 13:58:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15438555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justinsbuzz/pseuds/justinsbuzz
Summary: Steven is trapped by White Diamond, still thinking that he's Pink. Connie, the Gems, and the Diamonds, formulate a plan to find Steven, and escape. In the midst of the chaos, Connie and the gems try to find out where Steven is being held, only to run into Aquamarine. The gems tell Connie that it's up to her to find Steven. Connie finds Steven and tries to get him out of the palanquin, but Steven wants to stay and try to convince White Diamond to help him. Connie attempts to talk some sense into him, until some of White Diamonds court guards catch them escaping. before they could do anything, a group of Amethysts save them from White Diamonds guards. Realizing how much chaos is going on, Steven accepts the reality that White Diamond wont help him, and escapes with Connie and a group of Pink Diamonds old guard back to the leg ship, which is under siege. Backtracking their way to the gems, they only found Amethyst, carrying Pearl and Garnets gems. Amethyst is shaken, but ok. They make their way back to the leg ship. Blue and Pink are not only fighting off White Diamonds fighters, but most of their own courts as well. It took everything they had, but they were able to flee with a small handful of rogue court gems in tow.





	Escapism; An Epilogue

The leg ship was worse for wear. not by much, but the takeoff from Homeworld nearly caused one of the feet to be ripped off from the G-force alone. The rogue Peridot's are still assessing the situation. Steven never saw a Peridot in a full body enhancer. it was very impressive, in comparison to the limb enhancers Peri had. Another rogue gem, a Nephrite to be exact, was at the helm of the leg ship. The Diamonds were unsure of they should let a non-diamond gem pilot it, but even Yellow was mildly impressed with the takeoff. Nephrite's were apparently natural pilots, but this one seems to have alot of experience in active battle zones. this leave Steven to sit and contemplate all the things that had happened on Homeworld. He had thought it would go so well. He has hoped that White Diamond would listen to reason and help him. but Pearl was right. Blue and Yellow were right. White Diamond was nothing like anyone Steven had encountered before.

It broke his heart knowing that no only was White Diamond highly unreasonable, but she was almost completely unhinged. to say deranged would be a bit much. White Diamond was more or less removed from basic reality and completely devoid of logic or reason. the lights were definitely on, but no one was home. He held Pearl's and Garnets gems in his arms. a few tear drops land on them. He blamed himself for having them poofed. He wished that he wasn't so naive as to think that White could be understanding. but what's worse was that White's control over other gems were unprecedented. even though there were handfuls of holdouts of those who were more loyal to their respected Diamonds than they were to White, the rest were quick to turn on them. Steven knew that the ones that were left behind were going to be shattered for treason, but now, Blue and Yellow were branded as well. Yellow and Diamond had failed in taking more sectors, and instead focused everything on destroying the earth.

The tears continued to fall down on the gems he held in his arms. he didn't make a sound. he just sat on the ledge near Blue and fell deeper into himself, constantly blaming himself for one simple mistake that ended up shattering the Diamond authority into pieces. White Diamond reins supreme, and Blue and Yellow are now in exile. as to how many they other gems loyal to Blue, Yellow, and Pink Diamonds they were able to save and escape, the answer was always the same; not enough.

Steven sensed someone sitting down next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and holding his hand with the unoccupied hand. it was Connie. like clockwork, she always sensed that there was something wrong with Steven. She always worried about him, and even now it was no different.

"Steven?" Connie spoke to him gently. "are you ok? talk to me."

"Dog Copter 3. Do you remember when we saw that? Do you remember what happened before?" Steven asked quietly, trying to make sure his voice didnt shake much.

"The first movie we saw together, as well as our first battle together. how could i forget that. it was our first d-, um, first time doing that stuff together." Connie answered, trying to mask the minor slip-up.

"In between those two things. i asked why would you hang out with me? Someone who screws things up all the time. i don't think you answered why" Steven said, only speaking a little louder than a whisper where his voice nearly started shaking.

"I also asked why you would hang out with me. I'm far from interesting. I may be a sword fighter, a knight, a diplomat. well, a failed one." Connie said admitting. "But beyond all that, I'm as interesting as an empty jar of strawberry jam. at the end of the day, I'm just a human. why would you keep me around?"

Steven sat there for a few moments thinking about all that she said, and how wrong she was. the silence was broken by Blue Diamond attempting to whisper as quietly as she can. and for someone her size, that would be really difficult.

"Sorry to but-in, but, i don't remember the last time a native being tried to attack me with a sword." Blue spoke. "You have alot of spirit in you. more than i've seen from the most dedicated Pearls. My Pi-, i mean, My Steven is lucky to have such a dedicated human Pearl like yourself."

"She's not my Pearl." Steven answered a little louder than he was before. "She's not a gem. She's...she's my"

Steven's voice trailed off. He felt very unsure what his feelings for Connie was. Deep down, he wanted to say he loved her. He wanted to pour out all of his feelings. but right now, his mind was still filled with doubt and guilt after everything that happened.

"Jam buds. We're jam buds." Connie spoke, picking up where he left off.

"Jam buds?" Blue asked confusingly.

"It's a long story." Connie answered. "Steven or I will tell you another time."

"Of course. Another time." Blue said. "I've just never knew that the term 'Jam buds', also meant that you were in love. Human dialect can be so confusing sometimes. I'm sorry for butting in. carry on."

Stevens face grew hot while blushing. He knew parents sometimes like to embarrass their own kids, but he didn't need that right now. it still put a hidden smirk on his face though. the smile faded when he looked back at the gems he held in his hands. he then sensed another person sitting down. through his peripheral vision, he saw a star on someone's knee. it was Amethyst. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude, you know they're coming back." She spoke reassuringly. "They fought really hard, or at least the hardest i've seen them fight. never knew there were that many Topazes that could fit into such a small alleyway."

Connie cleared her throat, signaling that it would be best not to bring up the fight.

"I mean, They'll be back. it might be a week or so, but they'll come back." Amethyst said. "And besides, i don't think they would just leave you alone with me to take care of you, do you?"

Amethyst Spoke in a way that an older sibling would speak to a younger one in a reassuring way when something bad happens. In a way, he knew he could always count on Amethyst to always be an older sibling. she was 4500 years old, after all.

"It's still my fault though. I wanted to come to homeworld. i wanted to find a way to fix the corruption." Steven spoke, his voice shaking again. "Pearl, and the Diamonds warned me about this, and i didn't listen. and because of that, Pearl and Garnet got poofed, hundreds of thousands of gems will be shattered, and i ended up getting Blue and Yellow branded as traitors"

Steven's hands began to tremble at the thought of everything that had occurred. The weight of the guilt was crushing him. But it was the feeling of Connie, squeezing his hand tight, and the feeling of Amethyst's hand on his shoulder, that brought him back from the brink.

"You know." Yellow spoke, not trying to whisper. "To be honest Pink, the idea that White could help us, let alone be reasonable enough to hear you out was a bit foo-"

"Yellow! Please!" Blue's voice boomed, interrupting Yellow. The ship shakes a bit, with Nephrite being startled by the sound. Steven didn't bother to look up to know that Blue was glowering at Yellow.

"Pi-, i mean Steven, it took courage to want to go so far to help those who became corrupted. It was, to be honest, one of the traits that i admired from Pink. She had a good heart." Yellow said, apologetically. Steven sensed the sincerity in her voice. "It was one of the reasons why i loved her, and one of the reasons why I blamed myself for what happened. She was the heart of us all."

Yellow looked out the window of the stars going by.

"When we lost her, we let the worst of us get the better of us. Blue was distraught and left in tears. i was furious and wanted the world to be shattered the way the earth shattered my.....my pink." Yellow's voice began to shake a little. "But White Diamond, she just went off the rails. whatever coursed through her mind was something we couldn't describe. whatever it was, it split Homeworld in two."

"Great. more reason why I'm a screw up" Steven spoke, feeling the weight of the guilt weigh more than it did a moment ago.

"She wasn't to blame." Blue spoke curtly. "We're Diamonds. we always held up the facade that we are without flaws, and that we are without imperfection. but we let the worst get to us. the Universe in imperfect, and so are we."

"You aren't imperfect, my diamond" the pilot Nephrite spoke. "you should never say such incorrect things about yourse-"

"Nephrite?" Yellow spoke.

"uh- uh, My apologies my diamond" the pilot said nervously.

Blue took her pinky, and gently raised Steven's head so that their eyes could match. Blue's eyes were majestic, as though Steven was looking at the blue ocean that was outside his house, while Stevens eyes were red from crying. Same with Steven, Connie and Amethyst locked eyes with her as well.

"Steven, I need you to listen to me. None of this was your fault. the things that happened. the things Pink has done, those aren't your burdens to carry. or at least not the kind of burdens you should take on yourself." Blue spoke gently. her voice washed over them like the waves of a gentile oceans surf.

"Steven." Yellow spoke in the most assuring voice she could muster. "The Diamond Authority has always been on the brink for the past millennia. The worst the guilt and pain got to us, the more distant we became. but it was our choice to let that happen. It was bound to happen. there was no avoiding it. And the longer it took, the more strain there was. But now that it happened, we can now acknowledge what had happened and how to move on from here. By coming here and meeting White Diamond, you set about great change. we can now begin to set things right."

"She's right, Steven" Connie spoke. "When we, well, took some time apart, it was nerve wracking. it was hard. but when me met up again, we set things right."

Connie sat closer to Steven

"And since then, things got better. things were actually better than before."

"I can't believe I'm agreeing with the Diamonds, but sometimes, Steven, you have to pull a few pieces apart so that they can fit better in a new way." Amethyst spoke as well, rubbing Stevens shoulder. "Take a few steps back, reassess the situation, and find another path forward."

"And you aren't a screw up. You have a heart of gold with the best of intentions in mind." Connie said. "And sometimes, Adventure finds you before you find it. You don't screw things up, you make things that need to happen."

Connie looked out of the starboard side window, almost thinking she saw the 'Dog Copter' constellation.

"There are a ton of reasons why i hang out with you. why i picked up the blade for you. why you'll always be my forever biscuit to my jam." Connie said, looking into Stevens eyes, which are now star shaped. "But for now, lets just start off with the fact that you have a heart of gold."

"A heart of gold!" Blue exclaimed. "My Steven, how can that be! how were you able to accumulate mineral-"

"Human expression! Talk later, B. We'll talk later." Amethyst interrupted.

Steven's tears began to dry as Steven, Connie, and Amethyst stared out the window with Blue. everything became silent. the feeling of guilt began to slowly alleviate from Stevens conscience. Steven smiled in comfort, having his best friends by his side, surrounded by new friends, and about to come home. In the back of Stevens mind, and in his gut, there was a sense of uncertainty. A slight creeping fear. White Diamond isn't going to let anyone get away with defying her. not the Gems, and not the Diamonds. He could choose to let it get the best of him, or for now, he can be content that whatever will happen, knowing whatever happens, he wont be alone in it. he's surrounded by those who love him the most, and those who he can trust the most to be there for him. He had chosen the latter.

**Author's Note:**

> this was a theory i had about the next few episodes of "Steven Universe", which ended off with "Legs from here to homeworld". as of 7/26/18, there is no news of new episodes, or the dates for the Steven Universe movie.


End file.
